Flashing ECU?

[ebslopp]

Has anyone gone as far as reprogramming their ECU? I think I will probably wait until my warranty has expired, but this would probably be the cheapest was to gain the most HP. But I've got the equipment necessary to reprogram when the time comes. Just wondering if anybody has already tried this and if they were successful.

[Stang2Vibe]

Unichip sells a reprogrammed ECU chip for the Vibe/Matrix that is custom tunable for the mods you have on your car. You tell them what mods you have and they program the chip to maximize performance for you. There was a group buy going on at MatrixOwners.com a few months ago, but I'm sure its over by now. I think TRDvibe got one for her Vibe, you can ask her about it if you'd like. A few people have those on their Vibe/Matrix, but I'm not aware of anyone who actually reprogrammed it for themself. Unichip's data seemed to show that altering the programming didn't do much for these cars if there were no other mods installed, so I might not bother with this unless I had a CAI, performance exhaust, stuff like that.

[cdFxer]

Might be a tough one. Reprogramming the E/EEPROM in the ECU is feasible, but the problem is: what are you going to write into it? Without either the assembler Toyota is using or a whole bunch of aftermarket chips to read, finding the correct data to mess with is gonna be hard!Is the UniChip an actual chip? I thought when I read about it, it was describing a microcontroller based system that changes what the ECU is seeing on the input and/or changing the output signals. And as such it plugged into the ECU harness between the ECU and harness end. Ok, I checked out the UniChip site and it as I read. The reason they do this is that it is easier to "piggyback" onto the stock ECU than it is to reprogram its ROM. From the few new vehicle ECU's I have seen in the past few years, most vehicles are using ASIC's anyway-you HAVE to have the software they OEM designed it with then! And that would be IF you could even get the ASIC. Not only easier, but less lawsuit chance from smoking an ECU or liability from some weird wreck.(Im lumping GAL's, PAL's, and ASIC's together for brevity)

[ebslopp]

I've seen guys who reprogram there civics and vw's, so I'll assume it IS possible to get the correct assembler software. I've even seen guys who make multiple ECU's. Some are for drag racing and some are for street. I'll see if I can find more info on it.

[joatmon]

Interesting articlehttp://www.miami.com/mld/miami...0.htmQuote »Diebold's firm, KTR Performance of Ayer, usually does much better. He gets the best results by plugging new memory chips into turbocharged Audis and Mitsubishis."This, because it's for a turbo car, will give you about 50 horsepower," Diebold said, as he pointed to a small square of circuitry. Fifty more horses, just by changing a silicon chip.and Quote »"He couldn't understand why we wouldn't replace the engine for him," said Ray. Instead, the hapless car owner was saddled with a $17,000 repair bill.Still, Detroit is taking a tentative nibble at the software tweaking market. GM offers a chip upgrade as part of a supercharger kit it sells for the Pontiac Vibe, a small car that's popular with street racers. Films like "2 Fast 2 Furious" have inspired young auto enthusiasts to buy cheap "tuner cars" like the Vibe, and muscle them up.

[cdFxer]

Ok, but the "chip upgrade" for the Vibe SC is NOT a chip (At least not in the SC installation manual or posts in here). Its an add-on ECU. Im wondering how many peeps are saying "chip upgrade" when they are really piggy-backing on another ECU/controller/whatever. Im nit picking I guess

[Stang2Vibe]

I consider a chip upgrade or the addition of a piggyback device to be the same thing because their goal is the same and the methodology to achieve that goal is similar.

[AKLGT]

from my understanding the trd ecu is just a piggy back to the existing one. like the Unichip. best person to ask is probably larry on this w/ his s/c xr. in our cars, the chip only works well if you have additional mods. they can do a custom program specific to your car, but it must be done at a certified unichip dealer. none up here, so gotta go w/ the more conservative maps. either or, i can feel a very noticeable diff in the lower end torque w/ the chip then w/o. w/ the addition of a free flow exhaust, i could get even more! also, if you have f/i then you will stand to gain an incredible amount of hp and torque!

[cdFxer]

Hmm, I think our goal is/was that we can do a chip upgrade ourselves whereas a piggyback ECU will have to be purchased. We were discussing the chip route because they are fairly easy to change, are cheap to buy, and can be reprogrammed easily. If ebslopp or someone can dig up more info on burning your own chip, we are talking a less than $10 investment for a chip!